Olympic medalist skier Peterson kills self

U.S. Olympic silver medalist freestyle skier Jeret "Speedy" Peterson, 29, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Utah law enforcement officials said. Officers said Peterson's body was found in Lamb Canyon between Salt Lake City and Park City after he called emergency services before shooting himself Monday, the Salt Lake City Deseret News reported Tuesday. Peterson, who won silver at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, was cited for drunken driving Friday in Hailey, Idaho, police said. Police say Peterson was clocked driving three times the speed limit. "Today is a sad day for skiing," U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Marolt said in a statement. Marolt called Peterson "a great champion who will be missed and remembered as a positive, innovative force on not only his sport of freestyle aerials, but on the entire U.S. Freestyle Ski Team family and everyone he touched." Nicknamed "Speedy" and recognized for his maneuver that had three flips and five twists, Peterson had a history of personal problems observers said stemmed from alleged sexual abuse he suffered as a child. Peterson, from Boise, Idaho, was dismissed from the 2006 Turin Olympics after a drunken fight. He placed 9th in the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. In 2005, Peterson was charged with burglary and stealing weapons. He pleaded guilty after felony charges were reduced. U.S. team officials said Peterson didn't plan to compete during the 2012 season and was a full-time student at Westminster College in Salt Lake City. Copyright 2011 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.